A veteran Kansas legislator has won the Democratic primary for governor after stressing her Statehouse experience and fending off questions about her voting record.

State Sen. Laura Kelly of Topeka defeated former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, former Kansas Agriculture Secretary Joshua Svaty and two other candidates Tuesday.

The 68-year-old Kelly has served 14 years in the Senate and is the top Democrat on the budget committee. She stressed those credentials in running and suggested that she was best able to fix problems created by Republican policies.

She faced criticism from Svaty and Brewer for votes she made in representing a GOP-leaning district for looser gun laws and for some of the nation’s toughest voter identification requirements.

Kansas voters are also weighing four House races Tuesday, including the primary for Rep. Kevin Yoder’s 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses Kansas City. Yoder is one of 23 House Republicans across the country running for re-election in a district that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Left:
Paul Davis, a former Kansas state representative and the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, looks at a precinct map at the Shawnee County Democratic headquarters in April in Topeka, Kansas. REUTERS/Dave Kaup.